tangential line
by shomarus
Summary: Jaehee Kang is, for all intents and purposes, a social enigma.


**[author's notes]**

 **jaehee & 707 is the mlm/wlw solidarity we truly deserve  
** **au set in my own special little hell, jaehee has a lesbian heart attack and 707 is a little shit. so in other words, the usual.**

 **crossposted to ao3! you'll probably want to read it there, as is kind of sucky with formatting and i had to rewrite some parts as a result. i have the same username there, with the same fic name! ^^**

* * *

Jaehee Kang is, for all intents and purposes, a social enigma.

It's not that she doesn't know how to talk to people. No, Jaehee is master with words (although perhaps not in every situation), and she's observant. Always knowing what the other person wants, always knowing what's best for company policy. It's why Jumin has her work so hard, and it's why she's highly respected. Both by the RFA and by party guests.

No. That can't be it. The issue is that nobody knows how to talk to _her_. It's evident, in both the way they look at her and the way they stumble over their words, scrambling for the position of likeability they crave so dearly. Praising her presence when she's not around, but never to her face. Which is silly, at least in her ever-so-humble opinion; Jaehee is not unapproachable. Sure, she can seem a bit distant, but… That's only due to workload she has, and the time that's been robbed from her. Thanks to a certain Jumin Han.

Yet, as with all things in life, there are always statistical outliers. The fact that Jaehee is successful (although success is debatable) despite her upbringing makes her a statistical outlier. The fact that Jaehee is still single at this age makes her a statistical outlier.

And then there's that… that girl.

The fact that she's the only person who can successfully turn Jaehee into a sputtering, pathetically flustered mess by nothing more than simple greetings makes _her_ a statistical outlier as well. If there was a single person in the world who knew exactly what she wanted to hear, it would have to be _her_. Jaehee is not known to be flustered, and certainly _not_ because of a tiny unicode character slapped hastily on at the end of a heartfelt good morning message. No. Definitely not.

… Still, Jaehee could wax all sorts of poetics about the feelings she held towards that girl, and every little semantic and thought that popped into her head at random. For example, how she absolutely _insists_ that she be called MC, even if Jaehee argued time and time again that she'd rather use her name. Even if MC _is_ a cute nickname, it lacks the intimacy of an actual moniker. As another unpleasant bonus, she's reminded all too well of Luciel's alias.

Then again, Jaehee never made this much internal fuss towards the other members, so it was internal strife she'd force herself to drop.

It's rather worrying, the idea that MC can make her feel so much. Jaehee had thought that the thoughtless calls she made had been the worst of it. Now they have this morning ritual of sending texts to each other. She sucks in a breath, and sneaks just another peak at that morning message.

[MC - 10:26]: Morning, Jaehee!

There's a small black star next to her morning message, not totally unlike Yoosung's. Jaehee has _never_ seen that star in one of MC's messages before. Had she gotten the idea from Yoosung? Not that he's ever used a star in anything but his messenger nickname before... It's borderline stupid, the effect that this one mesh of pixels and Jaehee's own misplaced feelings has on her. She's a professional, 26 years old and _far_ too old to be drunk on love… Wait.

Love?

God. She really is a mess.

Because she's a mess and she's definitely _not_ in love. Leave silly and childish emotions like that for someone who has the time to actually indulge in such feelings, yes? Jaehee hums a note of acknowledgement and settledness, then promptly turns back over to analyze MC's text for the nth time in that five minute span. Oh. And a reply, yes, a reply is in due order.

[Jaehee Kang - 10:32]: Good morning. ^^ Have you eaten breakfast yet?

There. Fast, easy, simple, and no complicated feelings and amorous context behind it. Her eyes drift to the timestamps halfheartedly. 10 AM; she's due to head to work in another hour and a half. While normally Jaehee would be in as early as 6, it appears as though Mr. Han is giving her a tad of leniency. She suspects that it has something to do with MC and Mr. Han's own feelings towards her, but Jaehee isn't one to prod.

She's about to set her phone down to get off her bed, seeing as how she's done just about nothing to get ready yet, before her phone buzzes. As if it's magic, Jaehee's hands are practically blurred as she scrambles to pick up the phone.

[MC - 10:32]: Ya lol! Don't forget to eat as well, Jaehee!

Oh, and an image attachment. She's opening it and… Oh. _God give me strength,_ Jaehee thinks with tight lips. A sunny image of MC posed over a bowl of sugary grain. That little smile is going to be the absolute _death_ of her someday, and Jaehee imagines that… Well, she wouldn't actually mind it. Would make for an interesting obituary.

"Here lies Jaehee Kang. A cute girl smiled at her and she died."

If Seven was at her funeral, he'd likely make a passing quip about how he expected something like that to happen, or he'd just laugh. Or both. _Lolol, just like Jaehee. I, however, a master in the way of the gay…_ Her eyes roll. It's kind of scary, how accurate Luciel's voice rings in her ears. She supposes it's because she's been calling him a _lot_ recently. As in, an amount that would embarrass her if anyone else were to take a look at her call history.

All because Jaehee had made a _stupid_ little comment in the middle of a chat and Luciel, the monster that he was, kept _prodding_ at her until she finally admitted it. The whole 'I have no clue what my sexuality is doing and it's both very scary and very worrying' thing. An absolute demon, that boy. Although, Jaehee supposed, his prodding and poking had brought them close together. Close- _r_ , anyways. For no reason other than they have this one thing in common.

Jaehee thumbs the image attached for a second, then she swallows and saves the image. A small flash of panic goes through her— _Luciel didn't program the messenger to let other members know when their photos are saved, right?_ —before she realizes she's being ridiculous. Of _course_ Luciel wouldn't add in a function so silly. She likes to do all sorts of mental gymnastics, pretending that he's not actually a bad guy.

It's 10:38. Not too late to send a message in reply and not look as though she's been having an internal crisis, right? The issue presents itself there; what to send.

Sure. She could easily just send a 'no, not forgetting to eat'! But that would make her look clueless. MC _never_ sends photos during their little morning rituals. This, paired with the star in her previous text, leads Jaehee to believe that there's something more going on.

At the very least, that's what she hopes.

Hm. For someone who claims she's not in love, that she _totally_ doesn't have a blatantly obvious puppy crush on this girl, Jaehee's starting to display a lot of symptoms that suggest the contrary. She sucks in a breath, and quietly taps out a response.

[Jaehee Kang - 10:39]: You look very cute today.

Oh God. Jesus H. Christ. Lord in Heaven above, there is absolutely no way Jaehee is going to send this message and then _not_ immediately curl up and die on the spot. But before she knows it, she's already hit send and she's cursing Luciel for not listening to her in regards to that message deletion feature. She's already typing an apology message (although she doesn't even know what to apologize _for_ ) before she's sent another text. A string of them, this time.

[MC - 10:39]: lololol omg jaehee ;v;

[MC - 10:39]: If there's anyone who's cute between us, it's you!

Jaehee is legitimately going to die. MC is honest to God about to kill her with nothing more than sweet words and stupid unicode characters. Stupid, _stupid_ unicode characters. Unicode that has to mean something, if anything at all.

You know what? Jaehee's had enough instances where she's only had 10 minutes to go to work. She's fine with consulting Luciel for a while, lest her heart actually explodes from outside of her chest. She rattles off a quick 'oh thanks but I have to go to work right now haha' before opening up direct messages with 707.

[Jaehee Kang - 10:40]: Luciel? Are you there?

[707 - 10:40]: Luciel? Luciel, the world's guardian angel!

[707 - 10:40]: Touched down with godly grace of Heaven's sweet wings, ready to help you with whatever problem you may have.

[707 - 10:40]: Especially if my sweet Elly is involved~~

[Jaehee Kang - 10:40]: I'm going to log off.

[707 - 10:41]: omg no lolol jkjk Wassup Jaehee?

[Jaehee Kang - 10:41]: ;;

[Jaehee Kang - 10:41]: Don't joke around right now! It's serious…

[Jaehee Kang - 10:41]: You can tell when someone likes you, right? Romantically, I mean.

[707 - 10:41]: ahhhhhhh…?

[707 - 10:42]: Nope lolol why

[707 - 10:42]: Gasp! Wait don't tell me…

[Jaehee Kang - 10:42]: ;;;;;;

[Jaehee Kang - 10:43]: You know vyery well who it is alryady…

[707 - 10:43]: omg Typo lololol

[707 - 10:43]: I'm surprised you didn't notice already… it was obvious from what I read lol

[707 - 10:43]: Just like you Jaehee… _So cute! ;v;_

Jaehee stares down at the happy emote Luciel sent soon after, before she has a thought. _Nobody_ has used that emote except… Except MC. Which means that he's read the logs between them. Oh, joy.

[Jaehee Kang - 10:45]: You sly little...

[707 - 10:46]: LOLOLOLOLOLOL

[Jaehee Kang - 10:46]: I've been played for a fool. ;;

[707 - 10:46]: Eh? It's not like that at all!

[707 - 10:46]: I just thought it was appropriate that I…

[707 - 10:46]: _Nudge my friends in the right direction, is all!_

[Jaehee Kang - 10:47]: By hacking my supposedly private messages?

[707 - 10:47]: Oh… My chest… Hurts…

[707 - 10:47]: You have so little trust in me!

[707 - 10:47]: MC actually sent me screencaps lol

[Jaehee Kang - 10:47]: _I don't believe it._

[707 - 10:47]: Rude! ;; It's the truth and nothing but!

[707 - 10:48]: Still tho lol I'm surprised u didnt see it

[707 - 10:48]: MC _reaaaaaaally_ likes you

[707 - 10:48]: I think!

[Jaehee Kang - 10:48]: Oh…

[707 - 10:49]: Zen figured it out before you did which is honestly rlly funny lolololol

[Jaehee Kang - 10:49]: There is no need to make fun of me for it.

[Jaehee Kang - 10:49]: If that's all, then I'm going to get ready for work…;;;

[707 - 10:49]: lol kkkkk But why did you wanna know?

[Jaehee Kang - 10:49]: I am logging off now.

[707 - 10:49]: ! Gasp!

[707 - 10:50]: Could! It! Be!

[707 - 10:50]: Our little Jaehee! Our little MC! Two lovebirds locked in separate cages, never allowed to seek refuge in each other's sweet arms…

[Jaehee Kang - 10:50]: Knock it off ;;;;;;;

[707 - 10:50]: Lolol MC was right you are cute!

[707 - 10:50]: Wish I could chat longer, but I just got a call from my boss… T_T

[707 - 10:50]: I'm sure Jumin would have a fit if you were late as well lol

[707 - 10:51]: _Awwwwight!_

[707 - 10:51]: Defender of Justice, Seven Zero Seven! Out! v-sign!

Jaehee waits for a second—just to make sure that Luciel actually _has_ logged out—before going back to her private chat with MC. She chews on her lower lip slowly and lightly. There's an extremely high probability that he's totally messing with her, and that the moment she says anything of any romantic intent to MC, all will be revealed as some huge painful joke.

Not that she was planning to say anything romantic in the first place. Of course, there had to be a _reason_ that she was getting so fussy over MC. Perhaps it was her own strict set of principles, the ones that kept her motivated when she thought about women who may have had their eyes on Zen. Deep inside, Jaehee knows that's not really the case.

Seven is right. She horribly, obviously, and above all else, irrefutably has a crush on MC.

Jaehee absolutely _detests_ the fact that he's right about this.

And now that she's come to terms with her own set of mangled feelings, there was the one thing that she had to do. Earn MC's heart. Well, not… Not like that, she supposed. Seeing as how, according to Luciel's intel, she already _had_ MC's heart. No, more like… She had to gift her heart to… MC…? Something of the sort.

God. She's awful at this whole romance thing. It likely doesn't help that she has to get ready for work. Jaehee rolls out of bed, the weights and responsibilities of the world crashing back down on her yet again.

During her (regrettably short) breakfast, Jaehee looks upon her conversation with MC. And, despite everything she'd told herself, and everything she's telling herself now, she decides to poke a little more. Subtlety has never really been something Jaehee was good at, but wouldn't it be odd for her to go out into the open and call MC out for liking her? No, she had to let the pieces fall as they may…

Even Luciel's vocabulary is starting to bleed into her, and she hates every last second of it.

[Jaehee Kang - 11:21]: Since you sent me a photo, I figured I might send one as well.

After a moment's consideration, Jaehee adds a heart to the end of her message. With that out of the way, and no deletion feature to make her feel bad about it, now comes the task of sending a decent photo. She'd already gotten ready for the day, groomed and clean and everything else, but… There's something off.

None of the photos she's taking are coming out right. A minute passes, and then two, and suddenly Jaehee's camera roll is filled with a plethora of photos of her awkwardly grinning next to her half eaten croissant sandwich. Frustrated, and running considerably low on time, Jaehee picks a photo at random, and crams the rest of her sandwich into her mouth. If for no reason other than to distract her from her own embarrassment, heavy and right on her tail.

As if like magic, MC responds immediately. As she always has.

[MC - 11:21]: Thank you Lord, for on this day I have truly been blessed by Jaehee's beautiful face~

Oh, there's that feeling of total embarrassment. The pickup line was bad enough on its own, but there's something that Jaehee just can't shake off.

[Jaehee Kang - 11:22]: I'd have to thank the Lord for giving me you first.

Look at her. She's already started typing vaguely homoromantic things, now she won't be able to stop herself. She's probably halfway there to popping a blood vessel, considering how utterly warm her cheeks were.

[MC - 11:22]: omgomg Jaehee~ You sap~~

[Jaehee Kang - 11:22]: Is it truly being sappy if it's nothing more than how I truly feel?

[Jaehee Kang - 11:22]: I'm glad that we can… do things like this.

[MC - 11:23]: You mean the morning messages? It's nothin', really.

[Jaehee Kang - 11:23]: That's not entirely what I meant… ;;

[MC - 11:23]: lolol Jaehee's so cute~

[Jaehee Kang - 11:23]: ;;;;;;;;;;;;

Alright. Perhaps Jaehee will try the confrontational thing later, when she's more confident (aka, never) and when MC's ability to destroy her with text was removed (once again, likely never). She drags a single hand down her face, feels the heat on her face, and then her phone vibrates once more.

[MC - 11:25]: Oh! Don't take this the wrong way or anything but

[MC - 11:25]: 707 told me you might have

[MC - 11:25]: Maybe possibly…

[MC - 11:25]: Have a thing for me?

Jaehee stares at the string of texts, tight-lipped.

She's going to _kill_ Luciel.


End file.
